THE Appeal Court has cleared the way for Cabinet, if it so chooses, to lay a controversial firearm audit report in Parliament, overturning a High Court injunction that had previously blocked its disclosure.

In a joint ruling delivered on Tuesday by Justices of Appeal Prakash Moosai, Gillian Lucky and James Aboud, the appellate court allowed the appeal brought by the National Security Council (NSC) and dismissed a counter-appeal from former police commissioner Gary Griffith.

The dispute stemmed from a 2021 decision of the NSC, then chaired by former prime minister Dr Keith Rowley, to appoint an audit committee to examine the grant of Firearm Users’ Licences (FULs) between 2016 and 2021. That period covered Griffith’s tenure as Commissioner of Police.